Streets of Rage (series) - History

History

The three games in the series were released between 1991 and 1994, the first of which was later included as part of the Sega 6-Pak. compilation The first entry in the series, Streets of Rage introduces the main characters: three young police officers (Axel, Blaze, and Adam) and Mr. X, the evil mastermind. Gameplay is different from later games in the series, as were the graphics—which are significantly smaller in scale than the graphics of the later games. It is the only game in the series to feature a special attack that automatically defeats all enemies on screen.

The next entry in the series, Streets of Rage 2 had new music from series composer Yuzo Koshiro (influenced by early '90s club music), more defined graphics and bigger selection of moves. It also introduced two new characters, Eddie "Skate" Hunter, and Max Thunder (or Sammy "Skate" Hunter and Max Hatchett in some regions). Various gameplay tweaks and enhancements were added.

The final entry to the Streets of Rage series, Streets of Rage 3 was not as well received as its predecessors. Despite some enhancements, it has been seen as very similar to Streets of Rage 2. This entry to the series added a more complex storyline, told using cut scenes. The Western version's plot was largely censored and its difficulty level significantly increased.

Although it was one of the most popular franchises on the Mega Drive/Genesis, no new Streets of Rage games have appeared on subsequent consoles. After porting Die Hard Arcade, a 3D beat 'em up from the arcades to the Sega Saturn, Sega had reportedly tried to bring the Streets of Rage series to the Saturn and expressed interest in using the 3D title Fighting Force to do so. Nothing ever came of this and the game was released without Streets of Rage branding.

Early in the production cycle for Sega's Dreamcast, demos tentatively titled "Streets of Rage 4" were made by Sega of Japan to bring the Streets of Rage series to the platform. The demo showed a character similar to Axel fighting off a group of enemy characters. Various changes in gameplay had apparently been planned, including the introduction of new team attacks and a new first person perspective. However, allegedly due to new management at Sega of America being unaware of the series and its past success, Sega did not follow up on it and the game never advanced past the demo stage. Video clips of a demo were eventually leaked out.

All three titles were included in the Japanese version of Sonic Gems Collection and subsequently Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. All three are also available on the Wii's Virtual Console. All 3 games were also released for Xbox Live Arcade & PlayStation Network as a Streets of Rage Collection under the Sega Vintage Collection series.